lands end - golden gate national parks conservancy · lands end national park service. u.s....
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Lands EndNational Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior
Sutro District Golden Gate National Parks
In the 1880’s, Adolph Sutro constructed a steam train to carry passengers from downtown to Sutro Baths for the affordable fare of 5¢. Later, electric streetcars began carrying passengers to Lands End. Landslides plagued
the railroad from the beginning, and in 1925 the service ended after torrential rains caused a long stretch of track along the cliffs to slide into the ocean.
Shortly after the Gold Rush, Lands End became a destination for San Franciscans who were intrepid enough to take a buggy ride over miles of sand dunes to the ocean. In 1863, the famous Cliff House opened for business atop a rocky promontory overlooking Seal Rocks.
Starting in the early 1880s, silver mining millionaire Adolph Sutro bought the Cliff House and surrounding areas and developed an extensive set of attractions. These grew to include a spectacularly rebuilt Cliff House, an outdoor aquarium, the sprawling Sutro Baths, and numerous shops and cafes.
A Recreation Destination
Steam Trains & Trolleys
t first glance, the western tip of San Francisco appears to be an urban wilderness. Its rugged cliffs, windblown forests, tiny beaches, and endless breakers rolling in from the Pacific
give the impression that natural forces are in control and humans are outsiders. But Lands End with its spectacular views and wild character has drawn visitors for centuries.
The First People
Steam Train. GGNRA Interpretation Collection
Above: Ocean Terrace cars, 1903. John O’Neill Collection. Left: Clliffhouse. John O’Neill Collection
The Yelamu, a subgroup of the Ohlone tribe, inhabited San Francisco before Europeans arrived. The Yelamu collected shellfish, gathered eggs, made salt, and hunted seabirds and marine mammals in the Lands End area. When the Spanish arrived in 1776, they forced the Yelamu to move to Mission Dolores, where diseases
such as measles and influenza took a high toll. Within a few decades the Yelamu had virtually disappeared. Shell mounds (called middens) at Lands End contain shells, bones, and seeds left behind by the Yalamu.
Cover: Photo of Golden Gate Bridge above Cypress trees. NPS/George Su. Right: Ohlone Indians illustration. Linda Yamane.
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John F Kennedy Dr
El Camino del Mar
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Fort Miley Cir
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Eagle’sPointOverlook
MileRockBeach
PaintedRock
MileRockLighthouse
LandsEndPoint
DeadMan’sPoint
Eagle’sPoint
Palace of theLegionof Honor
EastFortMiley
WestFortMiley
ChinaBeach
BakerBeach
SutroHeightsPark
SutroHeightsParkingLot
LandsEndParkingLot
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El Caminodel MarParkingLot
LifesavingStationOverlook
USS SanFranciscoMemorial
PointLobos
SutroBaths
SealRocks
OceanBeach
CameraObscura
MileRockOverlook
OceanTerraceOverlook
SpreckelsLake
GoldenGatePark
DutchWindmill
CliffHouse
Louis’Restaurant
OceanBeach
LincolnParkMunicipalGolfCourse
DupontTennisCourts
Portalsof thePast
Veteran’sAdministrationHospital
ToGolden
Gate Bridge& Presidio
ToRichmond
District YMCA360 18th Ave& Geary Blvd
To Richmond District YMCA360 18th Ave/Geary Blvd
BatteryChester
BatteryLivingston
BatterySpringer
SutroBathsUpperTrail
TunnelEntrance
SutroHeightsLoopTrail
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BalboaStaircase
MileRockLookoutTrail
Coastal Trail
Coastal Trail
El Camino del Mar Trail
Frank H.Buck, 1937(shipwreck)
Ohioan, 1937(shipwreck)
LymanStewart, 1922(shipwreck)
PacificOcean
El Camino del Mar Trail
Food Service
Information
Restrooms
Scenic Overlook
Picnic Area
Wildlife Viewing
Stairs
Beach
Parking
Other Trails
ADA Accessible
Coastal Trail
Frank H. Buck, wrecked off Lands End, 1937
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Exploring Lands End
What is now the Lands End parking lot was originally part of a “pleasure ground” and “midway” known as Merrie Way when it was constructed in 1895. Merrie Way held several rides and sideshows transplanted from the 1894 Midwinter Exhibition in Golden Gate Park. Later, a ferris wheel, a roller coaster, an indoor mirror maze, and a “Haunted Swing” were added. Merrie Way was never a financial success and shut down within a few years.
The rocky shores, swift tides, submerged rocks, and dense fog of Lands End have always made the Golden Gate strait difficult to navigate. Since the 1850s, at least a dozen ships have failed to make the passage and sank in the cold, treacherous waters. These include the City of Rio de Janeiro, which sank near Land’s End in 1901, with a loss of 128 lives.
Merrie Way
Shipwrecks
Merrie Way & Firth Wheel, circa 1896 GGNRA W.C. Billington Photo
Frank H. Buck shipwreck, 1937. GGNRA Interpretation Collection.
EXPERIENCE YOUR AMERICA™
Printed on recycled paper
Lands End Today
Lands End is undergoing major changes to restore its grand views and make it a cherished San Francisco destination area. For more information on volunteer opportunities, please contact the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy at (415) 561-3077 or [email protected].
Lands End was originally a nearly treeless expanse of dunes and rocky hills covered with low-lying coastal scrub and grasses and a few sheltered pockets of willow and live oak trees. After the arrival of Europeans, livestock grazed the grasses and scrub brush, and the trees were cut for firewood. By the 20th century, the only trees in the area were ornamentals growing
The Cultural Forest
Above: Lands End, circa 1935. California Historical Society.
Overlook, 2008. Stephen Wheeler.
on the private grounds of Sutro Heights.Beginning in 1933, the City of San Francisco and the federal government’s Civilian Works Administration (CWA) planted thousands of Monterey Cypress around Lands End to ‘beautify’ the area. After years of neglect, efforts are underway to prune and thin the trees of Lands End to create a healthy forest.
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